Someone on Facebook asked the question, “What’s the one food you won’t eat.” I replied, “animals.” Soon, a few “likes” attached to my comment. Some vegetarians were cheering me on. Or, maybe they were folks who wanted eliminate meat from their diet but haven’t changed their habit.

Not to get too preachy, but If more people were vegetarians, it would help the planet. People know this, of course, but we humans are dominated by our taste buds, little receptors on our tongues that give us cravings. Salty tastes are particularly popular with humans and so meat satisfies. But, to make a good vegetarian substitute requires more than salt. Texture plays a large part in satisfaction. Says one producer of vegetarian foods, “Mimicking muscle is the holy grail of making plant based meat.” (“Where’s the Beef?” by Mark Ellwood, Bloomberg Businessweek, Sept. 17, 2018, pg. 69.)

Getting plant fiber to align itself as muscle fiber has been the stumbling block. Even so, Jaap Korteweg, who runs two vegetarian cafes in the Hauge, has patented a technology that manages it. His products are so delicious, Uniliver, a large conglomerate best known for its meat products, has signed a licensing agreement to sell Kortegweg’s foods.

Soon, Korteweg will sell his technology to other companies. But he refuses to share his recipes. They’ve made his two restaurants, the Vegetarian Butcher and the Plant Slaughterhouse, immensely popular. Among the converts, he counts himself. He didn’t start his venture as a vegetarian. But he’s one now.

Caroline published a serialized novelette, Marie Eau-Claire, on the website, The Colored Lens. She also published the story Gustav Pavel, a parable about ordinary lives, choice and alternate potential, on the website Fixional.co.